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Well, things got rather complex and a bit stressful at the beginning of the week. I got a call from the diagnostic place needing to change my appointment for my mamigram and ultrasound that I had scheduled for Monday afternoon. As a direct result though, I was able to make it with no problem, other than my husband having to take off from work early to drive me, to my pulmonologist appointment. After talking to my pulmonologist about the allergy test results and how I am still not doing well he decided to add a new inhaler. He also prescribed an Epy Pen for me. So I guess I get to start carrying that around with me now. Maybe I’ll have to actually start carrying a purse, which I’ve never liked doing because I forget them everywhere!
My new mamigram and ultrasound appointments are for Thursday afternoon. I just need to see if I can find a friend who will be available to drive me, so that my husband doesn’t have to take more time off of work again this week. Especially as he missed work this morning, because of car trouble.
That is one of the other complications of this week. Yesterday he had to take the car in to get fixed after work. But the place he took it coulden’t get to it until this morning. But now it’s fixed. They even gave us a slight discount on it, thankfully, because we really don’t have any extra money. My prescriptions are far from cheep, and the only medical insurance we have is Medicaid, with a spend down which I hit every month, but we have trouble actually paying for. Thankfully our farm assist always finds any discounts he can to help us out since he knows our situation. So adding two new prescriptions to fill, plus car repairs to pay for I was really worried about how we would do it. Thankfully the car didn’t cost as much as we were afraid it would, but we were only able to pay for one of the prescriptions at the moment. We will have to get the Epi Pen next week, but I got the new inhaler, which will help right now, and was needed more emidiatly.
So, thankfully things have worked out and everything has gotten taken care of as it somehow always does. 🙂

I’m feeling a little better, but I seem to have reached another plateau.As long as I take two tsp. of my cough medicine I only need to use one dose of medication in my nebulizer once or twice a day. When I only take one, then I need to use the nebulizer and rescue inhaler more and feel really icky again. The antihistamines seem to really be helping compaired to how I was feeling before I started taking them. 🙂 As long as I can get a ride, I’m going to be going to see my pulmonologist next week so that we can talk about changing my medications to better deal with my allergy triggers, which seem to have just recently gotten worse, and are likely the reason I was hospitalized recently because of my asthma. I just don’t know if I will be well enough to perform in my family bands upcoming Christmas shows.
We now have three Christmas shows scheduled for the next few weeks. Our first one is in Highland Michigan, at the White Lake Indoor Holiday Farmers Markett at 2029 North Milford Road. The market opens at 9 AM and the band starts at 10 and plays until 1 PM, on December 14th. The following Friday, December 20 we are the featured musical performance at Connect Me, for one of our friends who runs an open mic night. It is located at 963 Allen, in Ferndale Michigan. That show starts at 7 PM. Our third show is going to be a live stream on stageit.com. We haven’t decided yet when that one will be as our next couple of weeks will be very busy, and I’m still trying to recover. Right now, I still don’t know if I’ll be able to perform with the band or not. But even if I can’t, you should still go and watch if you’re in the area. Our band name is Sentimental Value. My husband plays guitar, and sings lead vocals, my son plays base guitar, and my daughter plays percussion. I usually sing backup, and am learning guitar. If I’m feeling well enough, I may actually play in public for the first time during these shows. 🙂

Wow, two posts in one day! I just got back from the doctors though, and thought I should post about it. He made sure that I knew he called in my prescription for my cough medicine, and he took a look at me. It seems I’m still all congested, and have a lot of fluid in my ears again. No shock considering how crappy I’ve been feeling! So he has also put me on an antihistomine/decongestant medication.
The latest diagnosis is that this asthma attack has been triggered by allergies after I told him how badly I reacted to the allergy testing on Friday. He was surprised to hear that the allergist didn’t want to go near me with allergy shots. He said that extreme reaction is very rare and he’s only had an allergist say that in a very small number of cases. He believes that the only reason I didn’t react to dog dannder is because of having my guide dog. Dr. Jacson thinks that my boy Baskin has taken care of immunizing me against dog allergies. 🙂 Which I’m greatful for as I would hate having to consider not having another guide dog after him.
According to the doctor my lungs are still sounding like they are moving air good. So he thinks that the antihistamine should help a lot as well. He also wrote a note for me to get to my professors somehow, to excuse me from classes for what remains of the semester because I’m still supposed to continue resting and relaxing to help me recover. Dr. Jacson was very happy to hear that the allergist gave us information on how to allergy proof the house, and that we are already taking those steps.
Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading my blog so far, and if you haven’t subscribed to follow my blog yet, please do! 😀 If you have any suggestions of topics I should talk about let me know. That includes answering any questions you might have about blindness, accessibility, tech for the blind, and guide dogs. 🙂 I know so far most posts are about my health stuff, but I’m not going to be limiting my blog just to that. 😛 Because that would be boring! Post comments, and likes please. 🙂 Thanks and talk to you all later

Bad news first I think. When I woke up to get my son up for his early morning Seminary, which he goes to before school, I had to have him bring me my rescue inhaler from the dining room table. 😦 It did help quite a bit though, for about 5 hours, then I needed to use two doses of Albuterall in my nebulizer. I was also very thankful to take my cough medicine when it was time. Despite the nebulizer, and rescue inhaler usage, I’ve still been coughing, and becoming short of breath quickly. After getting dressed this morning I had to sit down and rest for a few minutes because of that. It sucked!
Now for the good news! 🙂 Early this morning my Primary Care doctors office called. He is going to call in another prescription for my cough medicine, and I also made an appointment to see him again, since I can’t see my pulmonologist until next week and I’m just not feeling like I should still be this sick! The last time I was this sick, for this long, was just before I was diagnosed with asthma, about 5 years ago! Since then, when I’ve gotten sick it’s lasted a few days, maybe a week of needing to use my nebulizer more than usual, and one or two ER visits a year… I was pretty sick in September, but even that didn’t last this long! So, tonight I’m going back to see Dr. Jacson again.
This morning I also got a call from the first of my instructors. I’m going to Madonna University, and am majoring in Paralegal Studies. I have about one year left before graduating with my Bachelors degree. Currently my over all GPA is 3.516, and despite my asthma and being blind and a mom, I haven’t needed to ask for extra time on anything, or missed many classes. However, being sick like this I’ve missed the last few weeks of them! It has me very unhappy, and I was getting stressed about it. My doctor told me that I shoulden’t worry about school right now. As a result I’m really trying not to worry about them. I have also been keeping all my instructors updated on how I’m doing, like they asked. Last week I tried calling each of them to ask about getting an extension on assignments, or an Incomplete since I’m not able to come to class and complete the work for the end of the semester. Last week I heard from my Guitar teacher who said I shoulden’t worry about it at all and she could tell from talking to me how sick I am, so she doesn’t need a note or anything. This morning the first of my law professors called and she said that she’ll give me an Incomplete and that she just needs a note from my doctor saying why I can’t come to class. This afternoon my other law professor called and said that she will give me an Incomplete if I need it, but that it would be better if I can do the last assignment for the class, and that I can have an extension on that right to the end of the semester. That only leaves one more professor to hear from.
I’m very thankful that the situation with my classes is getting sorted out. That leaves me with a lot less things to worry about. Now if only my health would improve a bit faster… I’ll let you all know what the doctor has to say tonight. 🙂

Well, I called my primary care doctor this afternoon, and still haven’t heard back fromhim. It really would have been nice if I could have heard back today so I could find out if he would refill my cough medicine script for me or not… I also need to see about making an appointment with him. I’m feeling worse today than I did yesterday, which is a move in the wrong direction. Which is why I called my pulmonologist’s office this morning, only to find out that he is not in the office all week, but I can make an appointment to see him next week, if I think I need to. Which is why I ended up calling my primary care doctor again.
I am needing my rescue inhaler and nebulizer more often again, and they are just not helping very much. I had been slowly starting to feel better, but today seems to be a bit of a slide back downhill again. So I won’t be going out anywhere, that’s for sure! I missed class again today as well. I also haven’t heard back from my instructors yet after the messages I left for them last Wednesday, just before the Thanksgiving break. My ODR (Office of Disability Resources) advisor said I should call him mid-week this week if I haven’t heard back from them. I will wait and see what happens tomorrow, but it’s looking like I will have to call him on Wednesday after all.
I’m wondering if I spent to much time in the livingroom laying on the couch this weekend, and not enough time laying in bed… But my mother-in-law was visiting for a couple of days, so I wanted to try and socialize with the family, at least a bit. But now my chest, around my lungs, is very soar, and all the chest tighteness is coming back that I had just before going into the hospital back on Nov. 21st. I guess the doctors keep thinking they are making me better or something, but it just isn’t working yet! 😦

I thought that I should make my first post a mini bio just in case anyone stumbles across my blog who doesn’t know me. I’m a Mom of two, a college student and blind. I have an awesome guide dog, a husband who is a singer-song writer, a son in his schools marching band and jazz band, and a mostly sweet little girl. I’m going to school for a Bachelors degree in Paralegal Studies, though I have thought about going to law school after getting my current degree. I’ve been playing the guitar for a year, and sing backup vocals in my family band, when my asthma isn’t acting up to badly. 😦 Currently my asthma is the worst it’s ever been. I may even have to take next semester off of school. I’m starting this blog so that I will have a place for family and friends to read about stuff like my health updates, and so that I can have a place to share all the stuff I love. Like my knitting, music, insperation that I find from being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormon) and my thoughts on polotics, coping with teenagers, and whatever else I feel the urge to write about, or am asked about. This blog will have a focus, what’s going on in my life, mostly. But as I have so many passions and interests, it will likely have something of interest for lots of different people. I think this could be a fun adventure, so come back more and read and comment on my posts. Lets have fun! 🙂